We took Bella to the vet today. She has a spot on her back that hasn't healed. She also had something last fall in the same spot that took forever to heal. It came back a few weeks ago and hasn't gotten better. Her father, our first German Shepherd, had cancer. I was very worried that Bella had skin cancer, given the sore that wouldn't heal.

The vet, however, took a good look at it and assured us that it wasn't cancer. Bella has a cyst that has caused a sore. She pulled the scab off and examined the area. She shaved the hair and cleaned it up. She gave Bella a shot of an antibiotic and gave us some antibiotic pills to give to her. She told us we could put Neosporin on it if Bella leaves it alone.

We also talked to the vet about Bella's hips, asking if there was anything else we could do for her since some days she seems fine and some days they really bother her. She prescribed Deramaxx and told her to keep her on it for two weeks, and then we can give it to her every other day, give her a half a dose everyday, or give it to her as we see it being needed. Tango, Bella's father, was on a medicine towards the end of his life that really helped him; I'm pretty sure this is what it is. I really hope it helps Bella.

The vet is also doing a full blood panel so that we can put Bella on Deramaxx and for future reference. If we keep Bella on the Deramaxx, she'll have to get bloodwork done every 6 months.

Bella, like always, did great at the vet's office. When my brother decided to stay in the waiting room while we went back, Bella kept looking out the door of the room and was on very high alert, obviously bothered by the fact she couldn't see my brother. When we made him come back to the room, she relaxed. She let the vet do whatever she needed to do, as long as I held her head and reassured her. She hardly complained even when they were taking blood.

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Bella has hip dysplasia.

For those not familiar with hip dysplasia, it is a disorder of the hips that causes the ball of the femur bone to not fit into the socket of the pelvic bone. It can cause lameness and arthritis. Big dogs, especially German Shepherds, are prone to it. It is caused by part genetics, part diet, part physical activity.

Bella started showing signs of hip dysplasia in Fall '09. Her sire, who we had until he died, also had hip displasia. Towards the end, his was pretty bad. Bella's isn't as bad as his was. She does have the characteristic "bunny hop" when she runs, moving both back legs together instead of separately. This winter, she also started whining when going up and down stairs.

She has been on glucosamine chondroitin since last spring, but I hadn't really seen any improvements. Part of the reason I hadn't seen improvements was because she wasn't getting it consistently. I was away at school during the week and only home on the weekends. During the week, my mom, dad, or an older brother would feed her and give her her medicine. In November, it started getting cold here and Dad started bringing her in at night and noticed how difficult the stairs were for her. When he realised this, he started being more consistent giving the medicine to her. We also moved her crate from my room in the basement to the main floor so that she wouldn't have to use stairs.

Since then, I've noticed a few improvements. She no longer whines when using the stairs, and will now go up them at nearly a run. Not as fast as she used to, but it's a big improvement over what she was doing. Yesterday while I had her outside, I got her running a bit and realised that her "bunny hop" wasn't as pronounced as usual.  Her back feet aren't moving completely separately, but she's not holding them together like she was.

In addition to her being on the glucosamine chondroitin, Bella has also lost some weight over the past month (a good thing--she had gotten a little fat). I think that has helped quite a bit. I plan on making her get more exercise which should also help.

It has been really upsetting seeing her in so much pain, and seeing her being more active really lifts my spirits.

Warning: The guard dog on duty may appear friendly, but be aware that he is equipped with lasers!

Jax, with laser eyes

We have five dogs.

Our oldest dog is my dog, Bella. She is a six-year-old German Shepherd Dog. She is a good dog and I love her to bits. She is very goofy and quite klutzy.

Bella destroying a toy.

Our second oldest dog is Ellie, one of my mom's dogs. She is a three-year-old cockapoo. She, too, is a very good dog (probably better behaved than Bella, but don't tell her that). She is very good, but scared of almost everything.

Ellie

Next is Jax, my dad's dog. He is a German Shepherd.

(Oops...I don't have a picture of Jax. He looks a lot like Bella.)

Then there is Ricky, my little brother's Chihuahua.

Ricky as a puppy.

Finally, there is my mom's miniature schnauzer, Maggie. Maggie is crazy, and very active. She's also very smart. I plan to do agility with her when she is old enough.

Maggie

(I know I didn't write very much about the dogs. They are dogs. Their personalities are too complex to explain in one blog post. Also, I simply don't feel like writing a whole bunch right now.)